Sentencing, Judge Geoffrey Mercer said the sentence reflected the fact that one of the assaults would now be classified as rape.

He told Weyman: "You knew both boys to be vulnerable and in need of care and support and you sexually abused both of them."

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Weyman was jailed for 12 years for the offences committed in South Yorkshire and a further five years for those in Barnstaple

Det Con Richard Howe, from South Yorkshire Police said: "Weyman used bribes to overpower the victim [in Rotherham], telling him he would buy him toys and things he wanted, abusing the trust he had gained from the victim for his own evil purposes.

"The abuse Weyman subjected him to was absolutely horrific, so horrific in fact that the victim was nearly physically sick when recalling what had happened.

"I'd like to praise him for the courage he has shown throughout this entire process and I'm pleased that Weyman pleaded guilty, meaning the victim was spared the ordeal of a trial."

He was put on the sex offenders' register for life and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which restricts any future contact with children.